Laundry day

There comes a time eventually, and for me this day recently arrived, when the good ole washer or dryer you’ve had for 30 years gives out. Truth is, it was so well-built, it probably could be fixed, but no one has the parts anymore! For me it was the dryer that kicked the bucket, and I was kind of excited to get a new one, tempted to get a matching new washer too, but had to hold back from this totally unnecessary splurge (the dryer was expensive enough). why do I get so excited about laundry? Lord only knows!

One of the things the dryer changeover reminded me of, was dryer maintenance. When I first noticed the dryer not working, I cleaned out the tube connecting the dryer to the outside, the one that spits out all of the hot air and tends to collect stray lint. Not only is it important to clean this out regularly so the dryer works well (just like dumping a vacuum bag) but it is a safety measure too as that lint could one day catch on fire. 90% of the time, when you think the dyer is broken, this maintenance measure will fix the problem.

This bonding time between my laundry room and me also reminded me of a few organizational steps I take when doing my laundry. For one, in the laundry room I keep bins where I sort the different types of laundry to be done-mostly by color. Even if you think you’ve washed a dark a million times and it won’t bleed, enough little fuzz and bits of dye will dull a bright white so keep them separate!

I know you are supposed to use hot water for whites only, and it is an energy-saving step to use cold or warm water whenever possible (the clothes won’t mind!), but I tend to use hot ALL the time because I really want the clothes to be clean. This does not go for items I don’t want to shrink!

Last tip-fold your laundry as soon as it is done to prevent wrinkles and frankly, to get it out of the way so the clean laundry doesn’t pile up! It only takes a few minutes and the cycle can then begin again!